When I conceived this beer, I set out to create a smooth but hoppy brew. I wanted something that was easily drinkable, but satisfied my taste for hoppy bitterness and consistent malty goodness. The Chupahopra – my dry-hopped amber – was the result, and it did not disappoint.
This beer began as a simple IPA. Actually, it began as a bit of a challenge. My buddy Zach had mentioned that it would be cool to create an IPA with an ultra-hoppy finish, a lot of alcohol, and a light color, which we could call “The Hoax” for it’s deceptive nature. While I was toying with a recipe for such a beer, I came across a number of different recipes for dry-hopped ambers, and other malty/hoppy brews which sounded interesting, and altogether delicious. As a result, I put “The Hoax” on a backburner, and decided to aim for a balanced IPA, which quickly turned into my DHA.
The resulting brew is delicious (as mentioned above), though I would caution brewers to let it dry-hop for an additional week or two, and then resist opening for at least four weeks after bottling.
Ingredients are as follows:
Grains:
- 1 lb. Crystal 20, steeped in 3 gal of 150 degree water for 30 min.
Malt:
- 4 lbs Pils DME
- 2 lbs Pale LME
- 2 lbs Amber LME
Hops, etc.:
- 1 oz. Columbus for 60 min
- 1 oz. N. Brewer for 45 min
- .5 oz Cascade for 30 min
- .5 oz Cascade for 15 min
- 1 tsp irish moss for 15 min
- 1 oz Cascade (for dry-hopping)
Yeast:
- WYEAST American Ale (#1056)
I racked the beer after a week of fermentation, and allowed it to dry-hop for two weeks in the secondary.
Note: When I do this again (and I WILL do this recipe again), I think I’m going to add an additional oz. of hops for the final 5 minutes, to finish the boil, and an additional .5 to 1 oz. of hops during the dry-hop. Despite being hop-heavy in the beginning, the hoppy finish was less strong than originally intended. I would also consider dry-hopping for an additional week or so, although after a month of staring at a brew in the garage, it’s hard NOT to bottle it.
Love, Food & Beer 